


Nightmares and white lies

by Aurora_Nerin



Category: Devil May Cry, dmc
Genre: Angst, Dadgil making an appearance, Hurt/Comfort, I mean it, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, V is kinda dark in this one, Vergil has a crazy plan, What else is new
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:35:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24475858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurora_Nerin/pseuds/Aurora_Nerin
Summary: Vergil has a problem: V is back and messing with his mind. Or so he claims. So, when he asks for Dante's help to bring his unruly human side back to life, Dante reluctantly agrees.But nothing is that easy.It never is.
Relationships: Dante/Vergil (Devil May Cry), Nero/V (Devil May Cry)
Comments: 43
Kudos: 108





	1. Chapter 1

_ ‘’Do what you will, this world's a fiction and is made up of contradiction’’ _

William Blake

**chapter 1**

The first time it happened, it happened like this.

Dante had just decapitated a Hell Antenora, rolled to dodge those annoying ass Pyrobat blasts and realized that something was strange, even though it took him a moment to place, precisely, what.

It was a lack of sound.

An elegant swooshing of Yamato could no longer reach his earshot.

The further twins ventured into the underworld, the frequency of battles had increased. They were approaching the big bad after all: Qliforth roots they had to seal away. But, except a couple of lone Proto Angelos here and there, no actual challenge had been presented for the duo. Aside from the fights Vergil would stir up inbetween, to prove that he was, indeed, superior to the younger twin. 

Dante was bored of all that bullshit already. He would’ve given up, presenting his arrogant asshat of a brother with a win on a silver platter, if he had not been careful about what kind of fresh ideas that would instil in the other’s mind, with the world domination nonsense and all.

To speak of the devil, that’s exactly who Dante was worried of.

Granted, Vergil had never given him a reason for concern. No one could hurt Vergil like Vergil himself could. Dante was not used to being worried about his twin having trouble on the battlefield.

Maybe he had cleared out his half and was just standing there, looking at Dante doing the gymnastics to avoid getting blasted into oblivion (was such a thing even possible? They were already in hell after all). Sounded exactly what the asshole would do.

Dante smashed his elbow into Antenora’s face and turned.

What he saw, gave him a pause.

Vergil was standing still, alright, but not for the lack of enemies. Yamato hanging uselessly at his side, eyes wide and unseeing, staring into the distance vacantly. With Death Scissors fast approaching his defenseless back.

‘’Verg, watch out!’’ Dante yelled, hoping to snap his twin out of whatever trance he had fallen into. 

Vergil took a second too late to react: Giant metal blades went deep into his cheek and Dante screamed, activating his devil trigger and lunging at the demon, landing two precise shots at its masked face, spread out his wings and switched back to Devil Sword Sparta to plunge it into one of the Death Scissors’ chest. The other one made a screeching sound and flew away from the devil hunter, towards the other, in it’s small mind, easier prey. 

Vergil blinked, visibly confused at unexpected pain and hot red liquid flowing down his face and onto his coat.

‘’You made an attempt on my life. Brave, perhaps, but  _ ill conceived _ .’’

With the line, a storm of corportial blue blades sprung forward, hitting each and every minor demon still left standing. The field was clear within seconds.

‘’Good one, bro.’’ Dante said. He knew better than to comment about Vergil’s weird ass blackout. Or mention the wound.

Vergil grimaced, wiping his face with his sleeve.

‘’Being fundamentally superior to your enemy, sours the taste of victory.’’

Dante smirked. 

‘’We will find you a worthy opponent yet.’’ 

‘’Oh?’’ Vergil said, arching a single eyebrow. ‘’Given up already, little brother?’’

‘’Ha! Not on your life,’’ Dante bit back, cleaning the blade of the Devil Sword.

Vergil turned and walked on. If he were a human, such a wound would definitely have consequences; smallest of them an ugly scar to mar his face forever, the worst, all kinds of nasty infections. Thankfully, the accelerated healing factor, a courtesy of Sparda’s blood, made that outcome unlikely. So, had it been just the one time, Dante would not have been worried.

But it kept happening.

The second time almost cost Vergil an arm. 

The third time happened outside the battle: Dante looked back just to see his twin standing in the middle of a darkened tunnel, staring into a wall.

‘’Okay, spill.’’ He said. ‘’What the hell is up with you?’’

Vergil, having snapped out of whatever was happening to him, strolled past Dante, totally turning a deaf ear to the question.

‘’Don’t ignore me, damnit!’’ Dante threw up his hands in frustration. 

‘’Leave it be, Dante.’’

‘’Like hell! What if I’m not close enough to cover your sorry ass next time?’’

Vergil was on him in a split second, pinning Dante against the same wall he was so intently staring at a minute ago, Yamato pressed against the other man’s throat.

‘’Say that  _ again _ .’’ He hissed.

‘’Oh, now that’s a familiar sight.’’ Dante chuckled. 

Vergil growled, backing out, shealting the Yamato.

\---

It was only two days later, when they had stopped for the night (even though ‘’night’’ was a relative concept down here), that Vergil finally cracked.

‘’If I said I knew how to fix what’s ailing me, would you be willing to aid in fixing it?’’

Dante, leaning against a Qliforth root, eyes closed, halfway to sleep, perked up.

‘’I didn’t imagine that, right? You said  _ you  _ needed _ my help _ !’’

‘’Forget it.’’ Vergil hissed and averted his gaze.

‘’Oh, come now, Verg. You know I would help. I’m insulted that you’d even ask.’’

‘’Curious.’’ Vergil said. ‘’Seems that our lifetime of rivalry has taught you nothing, Dante. What if it required a human sacrifice? Would you still be willing to do it?’’

Dante frowned. The asshole had a point. 

‘’Ya, I should’ve learnt to be suspicious of your plans. I didn’t though.’’ 

‘’Pity. My methods are only controversial to those who lack imagination.’’

Dante groaned.

‘’Not this shit again. Just tell me what it is and what do you need me to do.’’

Vergil stood up gracefully, pacing up and down. It was unlike him to show nervousness this openly. 

‘’It’s V.’’ He said finally.

Dante frowned.

‘’V is gone, Vergil.’’

‘’That’s what I had hoped for as well. Alas, he didn’t merge back with me, not properly. Trust that useless vermin to not even get that right.’’

Mentioning of V like that rubbed Dante the wrong way. Sure, V had lied and cheated his way into reuniting with Urizen, but Dante was grateful for the outcome. Pissed, yes (oh, he would totally punch that goth twink in the face, given the chance!) but grateful.

But fighting Vergil over that would gain him nothing. The irony of  _ him  _ having to be the mature one around. 

‘’So he’s not gone? What does that mean?’’

‘’I can still feel his presence inside my head. And he’s restless. Tries to talk to me all the time.’’ Vergil explained. ‘’It’s but a nuisance at this point, but one can never be too careful. Last time I underestimated him, it has cost me greatly. If he tries to draw me into myself again during less… Appropriate time, it could end in a disaster. I would like to be free of the risk.’’

Oh, Dante did not like this one bit. 

‘’What, you want to cut him out of you again? Cause that worked out so great last time around?’’

‘’Not in the same way. Last time I was weaker, my body crumbling. I had to rely on just the power of Yamato and my own will. This…’’ He gestured around vaguely. ‘’Is just the place to do it. We have resources to do it. It would not split me, in fact. Only take away what is no longer mine. It is the preferable outcome. We would both find peace.’’

‘’Yeah, your poor head will stop hurting and V… What will happen to V exactly?’’

Vergil looked at Dante like he was stupid. Which, he probably thought he was.

‘’He would be his own again. Properly this time. I would even be willing to sacrifice a bit of my own power so his body is not at risk of falling apart again. The demonic presence will grow stronger the further we advance. If we collect necessary materials along the way, when we reach the centre of Qliforth, I would, with your help, be able to arrange a proper ritual for it.’’

Dante considered it. 

‘’This seems too neat to me.’’ He said a few moments later. ‘’It can’t be that simple.’’

‘’It would not be. The ritual will draw the attention of every single demon residing down here. That’s where you come in.’’

‘’You need me to have your back while you do the magic shit.’’ Dante summarized.

Vergil nodded.

‘’That’s the essence of it, yes.’’

‘’What happens if i say no?’’

Vergil stopped pacing and stared, like he was caught off guard by the inquiry.

‘’I would probably find a way to do it regardless.’’ His smile was cold, shark-like. ‘’The only reason I am asking for your assistance is… Well, common sense. It would be safer, easier to do it here, this way. If you refuse… Well, I’ll deal with my ailment some other time and place.’’

Well, that looked like a recipe for an even bigger disaster from where Dante was standing.

‘’Hell, no!’’ He exclaimed. ‘’I will not have you run off and split yourself, so i’m left with cleaning up your messes again!’’

Vergil smirked. Gods, Dante hated that self-satisfied, better-than-you smirk. 

Well, if ‘’my way or the highway’’ didn’t describe Vergil to a T…

This was not something Dante could ignore. Actually, there were few precious things he could afford to not stick his nose (and sword) in. The Devil Hunter lifestyle just didn’t work that way. 

‘’I’ll think about it.’’ He said at last.

Vergil nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer, sitting down opposite him. Not too close, not too far - in a perfect position to see both entrances to the small, round ‘’room’’ they were in. 

\---

Contrary to popular belief, Dante was not stupid: he knew that this ‘’plan’’ of Vergil’s had way more to it than his brother let on. This was Vergil, after all: it would be idiotic to expect anything else from him. Herein was the problem: there could be so many things. Aside from the obvious, Urizen making appearance, there could be so many ways this could escalate into a pain in Dante’s ass. To even put the Urizen thing aside, where was the proof that Vergil would actually be doing what he had claimed he would? Just gather crap top of demonic essence, put your I-desire-more-power sibling into the dead centre of the underworld and help him set up a dark ritual? Yeah, right. Nothing to be worried about. Just another casual thursday (if it was actually a thursday, his track of time was a bit off at this point.).

But he had seen the effect of whatever havoc V was wrecking on Vergil. Was it possible for the boy to survive merging? Was it likely that he could take over? Dante did not know and did not want to find out. Sure, he liked V and had sort of respect for his determination and intelligence (and he was quite easy on the eyes too) and would love to have him on the team again, but not at a cost of his brother’s life. That was a no deal.

But if this ritual actually worked, Dante would be glad to have V back. And he would not be the only one: the old hunter couldn’t help but think of Nero absolutely losing his shit, if he came back from the underworld with V in his arms. V, with whom Nero has spent a month, but obviously grew close to. Dante did not get enough time around the two of them to know exactly what was going on between them, but he was not blind. Even if he did not know what it was, he could see it was not nothing. 

Thinking of Nero ruined his mood thoroughly ; how was the boy doing? They had just left him in a demon infested city to fend for himself and God knew how long it had been. Leaving Nero to his own devices didn’t sit well with Dante. He didn’t like how he thoughtlessly just yelled at him about his parentage either. He was almost as shitty an uncle as Vergil was a father.

So, if he wanted to not get his ass punched i nto the next week by newly awakened Nero again and to put this disaster of a family somewhat together, he needed to do this.

For Nero.

For Vergil.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

‘’Are you sure it’s gonna be that easy?’’ Dante asked.

It had been two days since the conversation of bringing Vergil’s human part back to life. Dante still wasn’t sure it was that good an idea. But his twin was a stubborn bastard (which had caused, like 90 % of problems in Dante’s life). So, if he had his mind set on doing the dumb thing, Dante would rather he be present to minimise the collateral damage and make sure the dumbass did not accidentally kill himself or something.

Vergil looked over his shoulder, with a look of disdain on his face.

‘’Of course, Dante. We are only going to cut my soul in two and put half of it in a body created with assistance of demonic essence.’’ He deadpanned. 

Dante scoffed.

‘’You know what I meant, asshole. Are you sure you know how to do this?’’

‘’Yes, I’m sure.’’ The elder twin said without missing a beat. ‘’Now, if you’re quite finished with pointless questions, I shall begin the ritual.’’

Well, not like Dante could stop him anyway. The devil hunter watched as his brother-nemesis drew a sword and…

‘’Whoa, whoa!’’ Dante rushed forward, as Vergil plunged Yamato deep inside his left arm and sliced all the way. ‘’What the fuck Verg?’’

Vergil raised his eyebrows.

‘’What did you think I was going to draw a circle with, coloured pencils?’’

Gods, Dante hated it when the asshole made sense.

‘’Well, no but.. Do you really need that much blood for it?’’ He grimaced.

‘’Actually, no. Twice this much.’’ Vergil replied, collecting the drops of crimson liquid that poured down his arm into a skull of some lowly demon that they had slaughtered a couple hours back. ‘’Your hand, Dante.’’

Dante blinked at him in astonishment. 

‘’What?’’ Then it dawned on him. ‘’Hell no! We did not agree on this. I’m not giving you my blood to use it for God knows what, do you think I’m stupid?’’

‘’Well…’’ 

The way Vergil drew out that word clearly indicated that he did, in fact think so. 

Dante sighed. This was not good. This was so not good. But what choice did he have? He shrugged his coat off and pulled back the sleeve of his shirt.

‘’ _ I swear to God _ , Vergil, you better be doing this for bringing V back, or else I’ll…’’

‘’What, kill me?’’ Vergil said, eyebrows raised.

‘’Just get the fuck on with it.’’ Dante growled, extending out his bare hand.

Vergil, it looked like, learned when to stop provoking his sibling and get down to business. Dante had a weird feeling looking at his blood mixing with his twin’s. It tugged on his heartstrings in a way he had not anticipated. He could not help but wonder, if this would affect V somehow. Did this make him their kid or something?

God, he hated how weird his life had gotten.

He observed as Vergil knelt down and started drawing the summoning circle. This voodoo crap wasn’t Dante’s field of expertise, but he did recognize could of the rune: Protection, Soul Bond, Divide, some other things he vaguely knew were related to knowledge and power… 

‘’Don’t you have a job to do, brother dear?’’ Vergil said without looking at him. ‘’Kindly stop hovering and get ready.’’

Oh, right. Dante flipped Ebony and Ivory in his hands and took a protective stance. 

He didn’t see when Vergil activated the circle, but the overwhelming presence of demonic force made hairs on his neck stand in alarm. Then Vergil screamed in pain as violent light enveloped him and swirled like a tornado. 

The ground cracked. Tiny lightning bolts emerged and spread out to all sides. Qliphoth roots crawled in from all sides, sensing the ritual, drawn to the source like moths to a flame. 

Dante had no time to observe: first Empusas were already rushing in from all sides. He fired a few shots to approaching opponents and drew the Devil Sword Sparda from his back.

‘’This better be worth it.’’ He said and charged.

The ground shook. Dante decapitated enemies one after another, firing shots at the demons that appeared too close to the circle for his liking. How long was this going to take? He wondered, activating his Devil Trigger and taking down two Scudo Angelos, yet more kept appearing all around him. What would happen if these beasts actually managed to cross the circle? Not like Vergil was talkative in explaining the plan to him. Whatever happened if he failed, it would not be good: that's the only thing he knew for sure.

‘’Shit, shit, this is not good.’’ Dante muttered as he saw a Cavaliere Angelo descend from above him, barely managing to dock and roll to avoid his sword. ‘’Hurry the fuck up, will you?’’ He yelled at his twin and blocked yet another attack. 

It had to be close: the swirling cloud of energy had consumed all of the crystals they had gathered. The light started to condense and form a ball, right around Vergil, then separated from him and started taking a vague humanoid shape.

Vergil fell back like a puppet with strings cut. Dante swore and ran to the man, spreading out his Devil wings to block all the incoming blasts. Vergil was white as a sheet.

‘’Verg?’’ 

Dante did not get a response: there was another explosion that had nearly blinded him. He was thrown back as light and buzzing sound expanded outwards, consuming his every sense…

Then, it was all over: the light was gone and beside Vergil, there was a familiar, thin figure of a white haired young man. And, unlike his brother, V appeared to be conscious. Conscious, stark naked and disoriented.

The blast had knocked all their enemies back, but Dante was sure they would regain their footing soon enough. Which was a problem: They still had to get the hell away from here.

‘’Vergil?’’ Dante shook his sibling. ‘’Come on, this is no place for a nap!’’

Vergil opened his eyes slowly, taking in his surroundings. 

‘’Dante…’’ He coughed. ‘’Yamato..’’

Dante roughly pushed the hilt of the Katana into Vergil’s hand.

‘’So, what’s the plan now huh?’’ He asked.

Vergil got up, still unsteady on his feet and slashed open a portal. 

‘’Now, we get the hell away from here.’’ He said, calmly.

Dante grabbed his coat and tossed it at naked V, who had to yet say a word.

‘’What about the gate?’’ 

‘’It will collapse onto itself.’’ Vergil said, grabbing V by arm and pulling him up. ‘’I’ve used up the energy that supported it. Let’s go!’’ He said, all but tossing confused V into the rift.

Dante followed after him. He was not so sure if Vergil was to be trusted on the matter, but there was no time to double check. 

\---

The fall was only a second, but still left him shaken. When Dante looked up, there was an actual, starry sky above his head. 

‘’Made it.’’ He chuckled and fell back onto the ground, clapping his hands. ‘’Mother of fuck, we actually made it.’’

‘’Thanks for having faith in my ability,  _ brother _ ,’’ Vergil scoffed somewhere from his right.

‘’Boo hoo, cry me a river.’’ Dante said, taking in his surroundings. V was lying in the fetal position near them, his eyes closed, Dante’s coat clutched to his chest. ‘’Yo, Verg, we should check on the kid.’’

‘’He’s not a child, Dante.’’ Vergil replied, coldly.

Dante climbed to his feet, approaching V. 

‘’Yep he is. You made him from  _ our  _ blood, so he’s our kid now. So, since you gave birth to him, that makes me a daddy.’’

‘’I should have left you down there.’’ Vergil muttered, clearly disgusted at the notion.

‘’Honey,’’ Dante gasped in mock-horror. ‘’I will not have arguments in front of the child in this household!’’

Vergil spat on the ground.

‘’Hey, kiddo?’’ Dante knelt next to V, gently touching his shoulder. ‘’You with us?’’

V opened his eyes slowly. 

‘’There you go, sleeping beauty. Up, still got to get you home!’’ 

V’s eyes widened in fear as he tried to crawl away from dante. 

‘’No, no please!’’ He screamed. ‘’Vergil? Stop this! Vergil!’’

Dante raised his hands in surrender. 

‘’Hey, hey, princess, chill.’’ He said, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. 

V, seemingly noticing Vergil, crawled to him, burying himself in his chest. 

Well, that was.. Unexpected. 

‘’Vergil, please.’’ He pleaded, wrapping arms around him. ‘’Stop this. Don’t you remember me?’’

‘’Calm yourself, V.’’

‘’No!’’ V screamed, a desperate edge to his voice. ‘’I did it, I know I did! Why won’t you take me back?’’

‘’You did not want to go back. So, I granted your wish to be your own again.’’

That seemed to give V a pause.

‘’My .. Own?’’ He whispered. 

Then, there was silence. V slowly detached his arms from Vergil and looked up at him. ‘’I’m… What?’’

‘’Yeah, this is your second birthday, kiddo. Congratulations I guess.’’ Dante supplied, helpfully. 

V looked at him.

‘’You’re.. Real?’’ He asked.

‘’Sure am.’’ Dante nodded.

‘’Oh…’’

‘’Well, if you’re quite done with the dramatics, we still have to find a shelter.’’ Vergil said and stood up, examining the wound on his arm, which had already started to heal but still had a nastly look to it.

‘’Where are we anyway?’’ Dante asked. ‘’Is this Red Grave?’’

‘’Must be close to where we went down from.’’ Vergil replied. 

‘’Close to home then. Can’t wait to take a shower and get me some pizza. No, pizza first. Then shower. And a bed. Fuck, I haven’t slept in an actual bed in ages!’’

‘’Quit your whining. It had to be a month at most.’’

‘’Well, I’m an old man, some of us didn’t put up a demon tree and take a magic apple to get back some looks. ‘’ Dante bit back.

‘’Some of you did not have to spend a  _ decade  _ in the  _ underworld _ .’’

‘’Well,  _ some of you _ did not have to be a dumbass and jump of a fuckin cliff to stay there.’’ 

The twins were mere inches apart from each other, both gripping hilts of their swords tightly.

‘’Some of us did not have other options’’ Vergil spat. ‘’Survival was the only choice.’’

‘’Well, a suicide attempt is not my method of  _ survival _ .’’ Dante hissed.

‘’Reckless idiocy is more your style.’’

‘’Reckless idiocy should be your middle name, brother.’’

Dante saw Yamato’s blade coming toward his face just in time to block the attack. 

Metal clashed with metal.

‘’Well, this is a familiar tune.’’ He taunted. ‘’Up for a rematch, brother?’’

‘’Certainly.’’ Vergil smirked, slid back, straightened out his back, bending knees slightly, in a fight stance.

Dante grunted. This was getting absurd at this point. 

‘’Why are we doing this again?’’ He asked when his twin blocked yet another blow and attacked him from the right side.

‘’This is the only way it ends, Dante.’’ Vergil replied. 

‘’I’m not sure this will ever end.’’

Vergil chuckled and struck again. 

‘’You’re probably right about that.’’

Dante ducked under the blade and aimed a blow at Vergil’s back.

‘’Did you just say I was right?’’ He taunted.

‘’Don’t get used to it.’’ Vergil said, turning gracefully, rolling over and landing his elbow to the younger twin’s side.

‘’Ow! That’s playing dirty, you asshole!’’ 

"Death is unapologetic. As am I." Vergil quoted and swung the blade yet again, stopping at Dante’s throat. 

Dante was mirroring his position, Devil Sword Sparda’s tip just inches away from Vergil's face.

‘’It’s a draw.’’ Dante declared.

‘’So it is.’’ 

The twins separated, their lust for the fight done at the moment. Dante turned to V.

‘’Cover yourself, will you?’’ He said, pointing to his own coat on the ground.

V did not move from where he was sitting, knees drawn to his chest, staring into nothingness. Dante sighed, picking up the coat and draping it over the young man’s shoulders.

‘’Life’s tough, isn’t it?’’ He mused.

V glanced up.

‘’Why did you agree to this?’’ 

The question caught him off guard.

‘’To bringing you back?’’ V nodded. ‘’Well, you were making a nuisance out of Vergil. Well, bigger one than he already was. And, guess I really wanted to punch you too for that shit you pulled. Not gonna do it now, though.’’ Dante added when V shrank into himself. ‘’Later, maybe, when you look less like we dug you out of a grave.’’ He offered V a hand. 

V took it and stood up. 

‘’Let’s go home.’’ Dante said, cheerfully. ‘’Oh, boy, Nero will flip his shit when he sees you.’’

V looked puzzled.

‘’Why?’’

‘’Well, not literally. He’ll be happy to see you. Like, real happy. Hope so, or I did all this for nothing.’’ Dante said, following Vergil, who was walking down the ruined street with a purpose. Maybe he had figured out where they were. 

It took him a minute to realize V was not following.

Dante turned. 

‘’Hey, you comin’ or not?’’

V fiddled with the sleeve of the coat.

‘’Who’s Nero?’’ He asked suddenly.

Dante gaped. 

‘’Well,  _ fuck me _ .’’ He muttered, totally at loss.

He knew it. He  _ knew  _ it could not be that easy.

Damn it, did he hate being right.


	3. Chapter 3

‘’You gotta be fuckin kidding me.’’

But Dante knew that V was not. He couldn’t be. 

‘’You don’t remember Nero? Like, _at all_?’’

V shook his head.

Dante ushered the young man forwards to catch up to Vergil. Damn it. Maybe Vergil would know how to fix this. They couldn’t bring V to Nero’s door to break the poor boy’s heart. That would be just cruel.

‘’Hold on,’’ The Devil Hunter said: it made less sense the more he thought about it. ‘’But you remember _me_ , right?’’

‘’Of course I do.’’ V stated, like it was no big deal.

‘’Who else do you remember?’’

V furrowed his brows.

‘’Everyone that Vergil has met, I believe.’’ He said. ‘’And some people that I’ve met during the month we fought Urizen.’’

Dante gaped.

‘’But you’ve… But…’’

V stared at him expectantly. 

‘’Okay, we’ll fix this somehow.’’ 

V nodded. 

Well, if that was amnesia, it was one hell of a weird case, Dante thought. This could not be normal. To forget only one specific person? How could that make sense? 

‘’What were you doing that month?’’ He asked.

V took a moment to answer.

‘’Well, we went to face Urizen. You, your friends and I. We suffered a defeat. Your friends were taken captive. We retreated and strengthened ourselves and went back in after a month. We went back in. Cleared the city. Descended into Qliphoth. Faced Urizen again and I…’’ V trailed off, running his fingers up and down the scars that remained of his tattoos. ‘’I’m sorry about withholding the truth about who I was, Dante. I thought, if I had been more honest, you would have refused to help.’’ he sighed. ‘’I could not have risked that.’’

Dante almost did not hear the last part; everything else was already too much to take in. So he… What, he took the place of Nero in V’s memories? How was that possible?

‘’You don’t remember me almost dying? And spending a month napping? And you almost taking my head clean off?’’

V scoffed.

‘’Don’t be foolish, Dante. I would not have let him kill you. And I would never attack you while you were defenseless. What would be the point of that?’’

Dante raised an eyebrow.

‘’How very… _Vergil_ of you.’’ He deadpanned.

‘’We are the same, he and I.’’

‘’You don’t see it like that.’’

‘’Well, what else am I if not the discarded part of him?’’

This shit was giving Dante a headache. 

‘’Maybe you were, at first. But _the Vergil I know_ would never ask for my help. Not a chance. So there’s that.’’

V seemed to be contemplating the thought, but never objected.

Now that they have found a way to a main street, the area seemed familiar to Dante. It was not quite the Red Grave, but a smaller town just 20 miles from it. Or, rather, what remained of it, after the almost-apocalipse that went down.

Vergil was nowhere to be seen. That did not sit well with the old Devil Hunter. Just another problem added to the growing list of bullshit that started the moment V had walked through the door of Devil May Cry. Would he have actually refused to help the man if he’d known? Dante was not sure. And the fact that he was not sure was getting on his tits. Since when had he become this petty? Would he actually stand by and watch innocents die by hundreds, or even thousands, if he’d known, his own stupid brother was the one asking for help?

The fact that he did not know was the worst part.

* * *

‘’So, we’re pretty close to home. Gotta get something to drive with though.’’ Dante said, after Vergil finally came back from wherever the hell he’d gone.

‘’Drive?’’ Vergil looked sceptical. ‘’You do know we can fly, correct?’’

‘’Well…’’ Dante gestured at V, who seemed exhausted already from the short walk. ‘’The kid can’t.’’

‘’I’m not a child, Dante!’’

‘’Yeah, whatever. Hope one of these bad boys still works,’’ Dante said, smacking the roof of one of the abandoned SUVs. 

‘’I can make it work.’’ V said, putting the hood up. ‘’Can you fire it up? What?’’ He added, when noticing the twins gaping at him.

‘’When exactly did you become a mechanic. Vergil can’t even drive.’’

V shrugged.

‘’I am by no means best. Nico did teach me some basics though.’’

Dante laughed. The look on Vergil’s face was hilarious: his human half was ahead of him already! 

‘’Dante, if you will…’’ V said, gesturing.

Dante got behind the wheel. 

‘’It doesn’t work.’’ He said after couple of attempts.

‘’Give me a moment.’’ V sounded sure. Oh, it must be getting on Vergil’s tits, to be so out of place and incompetent. ‘’If you two could get some gas from other cars, would be much appreciated.’’

* * *

‘’I don’t like this, Vergil. It’s weird. I don’t like this weird shit.’’

They found an extra canister almost full just five minute walk away, in an abandoned garage and were heading back. It had to be more than enough to get them to Red Grave.

‘’Cease your blabbering for a second and explain what you think is wrong this time.’’ Vergil sighed.

‘’He doesn’t remember Nero!’’ Dante hissed. ‘’He remembers everyone else, but not him! That should not be possible!’’

‘’You’re right.’’ Vergil said, scratching his chin. ‘’That makes no sense.’’

‘’Finally! We agree!’’ 

‘’Which means it _can’t be true_. He’s clearly lying.’’ 

Dante side-eyed his brother.

‘’Why would he lie?”’

Vergil shrugged.

‘’V’s reasoning is his own. He is no longer a part of me. What I do know is that he clearly did remember my son when he was in my head. That’s all he ever spoke to me about. It was a nuisance. He could not have forgotten _his reason.’_ ’ 

‘’I don’t believe that. He’s not that good at pretending, honestly.’’

‘’How do you know?’’

‘’Cause… Well… He’s technically you and you couldn’t lie to save your life.’’ 

‘’He fooled all of you and hid who he was for a month.’’ Vergil pointed out. ‘’Which, honestly, Dante, how naive are you? How could you not read my Demonic Energy on him?’’

Dante growled. He hated when his asshole brother was right. 

Yeah, he got played by V before. Could he be up to something again? Dante did not want to think that. But he had to consider the possibility. 

V, it turned out, actually knew how to fix a car. Well, that was one less thing to worry about.

‘’You know how to drive too?’’ Dante asked, hopeful.

‘’I do. But I was under the impression that you would be the one to drive us.’’

‘’Why me?’’

‘’Because you like to be in charge?’’ 

Vergil laughed. Actual, heartfelt laugh, that Dante had not heard from him in decades, if ever. Which made getting owned like this was almost worth it. Almost. 

‘’Nah.’’ He said, opening the back door. ‘’You have your practice, kiddo. Ima nap in the back.’’

V got behind the wheel. Vergil was in the front seat, fastening the seat belt already. Dante rolled his eyes. 

‘’Wake me when we get there.’’ Dante said and closed his eyes.

* * *

‘’Dante informed me about something, Vitale.’’ He heard Vergil say after a couple minutes.

Wait… _Vitale_?

‘’Yes?’’ 

‘’That you don’t seem to remember my son.’’

‘’Your _son_?’’

‘’Nero. Guess you don’t remember who he was to me either.’’ 

‘’I’m sorry.’’ V sighed. 

‘’No one blames you.’’ Vergil sounded uncharacteristically soft. Dante cracked one eye open in time to see his brother putting a hand on V’s shoulder in a comforting manner. What the actual fuck was happening?

‘’From what Dante implied, it seems he was important to me.’’ V sounded distressed. ‘’Do _you_ remember what I felt for him?’’

‘’Your feelings were your own, Vitale. I could not feel things for you.’’

‘’But I wanted to be my own because of him! And I don’t even know _why_!’’

Vergil shook his head.

‘’You wanted to be your own because you _are_ your own person, Vitale. You and I… We were never actually the same. You did some things I would have never done.’’

‘’Like asking Dante here for help?’’

Vergil chuckled.

‘’Yes, like that. It was a good move. I never expected you to survive on your own. Or to transform _our nightmares i_ n your weapons. That takes courage I never had. To weaponize your own trauma. Do you have any idea, how astounding that is?’’

‘’You almost sounded complimentary, Vergil. Careful, someone could accuse you of caring.’’

‘’Can’t have that, can we?’’ Vergil said, tone playful. ‘’Got a reputation to uphold after all.’’

‘’Your secret is safe with me.’’ V assured.

Okay, there was something really weird going on here. Not that Dante was jealous that his brother, his fuckin twin, was showering someone else with so much affection. Affection that Dante was never on the receiving end of. The only thing he had ever gotten from Vergil, was a sword through the chest. 

Damn it, guess him and Nero were in the same boat: both having lost affection of the person they cared about. 

There was only one difference.

Nero still had a chance to get it back.

For Dante and Vergil, it was over. 

And it hurt to realize that. 

It was truly strange, Dante mused, before actually falling asleep to the roaring of engine and calming vibrations of a car moving (V, unlike Nico or Dante himself, turned out to be a really good and responsible driver.), that it took him seeing Vergil display care for someone else to realize that they had truly, completely, utterly lost each-other. That Vergil was not incapable of acting human. It was just Dante that brought out the worst in him.

Just like in everybody else, probably.

Maybe, he had to let his brother go. For the sake of both of them.

But, he was a stubborn old bastard: starting over was not something he could stomach even thinking of.

For better, or (more likely), for worse. 

* * *

‘’We’re here, Dante.’’ 

Indeed they were. The red neon sign of Devil May Cry was still on. Looked like Nero actually made good on his promise to stay in Red Grave and wait.

The front door opened. 

‘’Oh my fuckin God!’’ Nico screeched. ‘’Nero! Dumbass! Get yer ass over here!’’

‘’What?’’ Someone yelled back from inside.

‘’They’re back!’’

Nico ran down the stairs and to the car.

‘’Greetings, Nico.’’ V said. 

Nico turned around and screamed.

‘’What the fuck! You’re dead, Shakespeare!’’

‘’Good as new.’’ V chuckled.

Nico stared at him and then, in a split second, she threw her arms and legs around him, causing the lean man to stumble and almost fall.

‘’Oh my Gosh, oh my Gosh!’’ She kept blabbering. ‘’How’re ya back? Good to have ya back!’’

‘’Thank you, Nico.’’ V said calmly. patting her curly hair. ‘’It’s good to be back.’’

‘’Wait, does that mean we gotta fight that asshole again? Please don’t tell me ther’s gon be another apocalipse, I’m done with em for this lifetime!’’

‘’No such thing will occur, I assure you.’’ Vergil said. Nico turned to the unfamiliar man. 

Nico narrowed her eyes at Vergil.

‘’Ya, that’s the asshole brother, in flesh.’’ Dante cut in. ‘’Nico, meet..’’ His words were cut of by a sickening clash with Nico’s fist into Vergil’s face. 

‘’Owww that hurt!’’ She complained, rubbing her split knuckles. Vergil seemed entire unaffected, physically, although, stuck dumb by the nerve of this insolent human.

‘’You should not have done that.’’ He hissed.

There was a sound of Yamato being unsheathed and Dante’s brain was filled with lots of thoughts, mostly consisting of words ‘’shit’’ and ‘’fuck.’’ There was no time to get back to the car and get his own sword. Guess he’d have to block the sword with his body. It would be all too familiar…

But, before he could even move, there was a flash of blue light and Nero stood in front of Nico and V, his spectral wings out, curling over the two humans protectively, in his half-triggered form, growling at Vergil.

‘’If you came here to start shit again, I suggest you head right back to the hell you crawled out from, _father_.’’ He spat.

‘’This does not concern you, Nero.’’ 

‘’Like hell! You were about to run my friend through!’’ Nero yelled back. ‘’Save that shit for Dante!’’

‘’Hey!’’ Dante protested. ‘’I’m done with being stabbed. I’m retiring.’’

‘’I thought you would be more grateful, son.’’

‘’Grateful?’’ Nero looked confused. ‘’What the hell would I be grateful for?’’

Dante pointed over Nero’s shoulder.

Nero turned and gasped.

‘’V...’’ He whispered. 

His sword fell to the ground. Nero wrapped his arms against the lean man. 

‘’Oh my God, V!’’ His voice was strained. ‘’I thought… I thought I lost you!’’

V seemed uncomfortable, but tried hard not to let it show.

Dante sighed. Well, there went the worst part…

‘’How?’’ Nero kept ranting, totally oblivious of the helpless look V was giving the others. ‘’How are you alive? Oh my God, who even cares! I should totally punch you for what you did! How could you not tell you would die? How could you?’’

‘’Nero…’’ Dante decided he had to interfere. ‘’Give the guy some room to breathe.’’

Nero nodded, his ears turning crimson.

‘’Yea, yea, I’m sorry. Let’s go inside, I’ll cook dinner or something.’’

Dante nodded. At least they would face the disaster with their stomachs actually full.

But of course, V, the oblivious bastard that he was, had to go and ruin everything.

‘’Oh, you must be Nero,’’ He said, smiling, extending a hand to the silver haired young hunter. ‘’Nice to meet you.’’

The look on Nero’s face was one of total confusion and betrayal. 

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

The silence was deafening, stretching out, thickening around them, till Nero could swear, he would be able to cut it with a sword. 

He looked around: Dante looked tense and uncomfortable, suddenly taking great interest in his fingernails and avoiding Nero’s eyes. Vergil, on the other hand, seemed to be observing the situation keenly, though staying out of it. Nico just stood there, staring at V like he’d grown a second head. 

‘’What the fuck, man!’’ She said at last.

Nero coughed awkwardly.

‘’Well, nice to meet you too, I guess.’’ He said, still expecting someone to jump and yell ‘’April Fool’s!’’ any second.

V bit his lip.

‘’I apologize.’’ He said. ‘’My memories are a bit blurry at this time.’’

The silence fell again. Nero knew, he had to get his head out of his ass and invite them in, but he just did not have the heart to do so anymore: the sudden rush of adrenaline of seeing Vergil draw Yamato at his friend and the utter shock and overwhelming joy that he’d felt when seeing V alive, was all gone and replaced by numbness. 

Dante was the one that had to take pity on him.

‘’So, dinner?’’ He said, cheerfully. ‘’I’m starving!’’

Nero nodded, turned and left. 

The way he slammed the door behind him made Dante flinch.

‘’That went well.’’ He said sarcastically. ‘’Really V? Nice to meet you? You just had to drop the bomb on the poor guy like that? Couldn’t you like… Lead him into it?’’

V hung his head, ashamed.

‘’I’m sorry.’’ He said. ‘’I did not think he would react this harshly.’’

Dante scoffed.

‘’You know what? You’re too much like Vergil at times.’’

‘’Do not blame yourself.’’ Vergil said, picking up the Red Queen that Nero had left behind. ‘’There was no way you could reveal the truth without hurting him. It was bound to happen, sooner or later.’’

\---

The dinner was the most awkward thing Dante had ever taken part in. Nero honestly tried to cook, he did, but kept forgetting to actually tend to the pasta he was making, over boiling and ruining everything and almost starting a fire too. 

Dante had to step in and save the day again.

‘’What’s this?’’ He said, poking his nose into the salad Nero was currently trying to make. ‘’This shit is too green for my liking. Is my favourite pizza place still in business?’’

‘’Dunno.’’ Nero muttered. 

‘’How can you not know?’’ Dante gasped in mock-horror. ‘’Have y’all been going all healthy why I was down there getting my ass handled? This is ridiculous!’’

‘’I’ll call them and order.’’ The young hunter said, finally giving up on his pointless attempt on cooking.

‘’That’s my boy! I was a double pepperoni. And some fries. Check if they have ice-cream too!’’

Nero nodded and disappeared into the hall, to Dante’s office.

Vergil was the one to follow him, much to everyone’s surprise. 

‘’You left this outside.’’ He said, placing the Red Queen on the table. 

Nero frowned at his father.

‘’What do you want?’’

‘’I know it will be hard, but you have to give him some space, Nero. It’s not his fault that he does not remember.’’

‘’No one said it was his fault.’’ Nero growled. ‘’Just spare me the fatherly doting or whatever the fuck you’re trying to do here.’’

‘’I know you have no reason to trust me.’’ Vergil was trying to be as diplomatic as possible. ‘’I have not been a father to you all your life and I do not expect a warm welcome.’’

‘’Well, good.’’ Nero crossed his hands over his chest. ‘’Because you won’t get any from me.’’

‘’But I would like us to still try.’’

‘’Why?’’

‘’Up until recently, I did not know you existed. Maybe I would have come for you, had I known.’’

_ ‘’Maybe _ ?’’ Nero mocked. ‘’Look at you. You can’t even pretend to care. It’d be funny if it wasn’t so sad.’’

‘’I would still like to try and earn your sympathy, if only that.’’

‘’Well. You’d have to try real hard,  _ Dad _ .’’ Nero drawled, shouldering Vergil and walking away. ‘’Good luck with that.’’

* * *

V was staring down at his hands. He felt so out of place here. In theory, he knew, this was the only place he had any chance of belonging. But it felt wrong. He did remember being in Dante’s home before, offering him a job to go after Urizen, fighting alongside him and Nico, but it felt… Wrong. Distorted. Like someone else’s life. Funny, that. He’d never felt the same way about Vergil’s nightmares. They seemed all too real for comfort. 

‘’So,’’ Nico dropped down on the couch next to him, a lit cigarette in her hand. ‘’What happened to yer hair, Pretty Boy?’’

V didn’t get what she was referring to. Not at first.

‘’Oh, this  _ is  _ my hair color. The Demonic Contracts were what made it black.’’

Nico eyed him up and down.

‘’And your tats?’’

‘’Those were the sign of Contracts as well.’’

She huffed.

‘’So, like, the chicken and the kitty are gone now, huh?’’

‘’Seems so.’’ V replied. Thinking about his familiars left an ache in his chest. Without them, what was he, really? He was useless. Granted, his body was no longer falling apart, but he could not battle alongside others anymore. He had no purpose. Nothing to live for. Before, his only goal had been to defeat Urizen and join with him once more. He’d always known there was a point when he would cease to exist. So he’d never bothered to make any plans. 

Now, though? Now, he had more time. A full lifespan of a human. Fifty, maybe sixty years? What was he supposed to do with that time? 

‘’..Liked it better black.’’ Nico’s voice cut through his thoughts. ‘’Hey, would you like to have your hair dyed? I know a gal that can do all kinda crazy colors!’’

‘’I’ll consider it.’’ V sighed. He probably would not, but he knew the hard ‘’No’’ would not deter the Mechanic. 

‘’And where’s your cane? I can make you something, you gonna need a weapon, all these guys got one, it’s not fair! Watcha want? Another cane? A spear? A gun? Please, tell me you want a gun, love makin’ those!’’ 

She kept on blabbering. It made V smile a little. It sounded so familiar: The three of them, driving together, making campfires at night, constantly arguing about little things... It was probably the happiest he’d ever felt.

* * *

Dante was giving him a cold shoulder. V only noticed this when they were done eating and the old hunter retreated to his room without sparing him a glance. Well, he should have known the goodwill would not last. He was a part of Vergil, after all. Dante hated Vergil. It only made sense for him to dislike V too. 

Nico tousled his hair and said she would be back tomorrow and left. A second later, an awful screeching of tires was heard from outside. Her driving habits seemed to have stayed the same.

Vergil followed Dante. There was no shouting or fighting to be heard so far. Which was a good sign.

V sighed and curled up on the couch. It was cold, late autumn night. The heating was not yet on. He wished for Shadow to curl himself around. He wished for Griffon to appear and call him names, chastise him and give him advice. 

It had always been like this. First time he’d been alive, it was just a side effect of Vergil wanting to rid himself of V. And now, he had been brought back for someone else’s wishes again. For Nero. Who V did not remember and felt nothing for. Was he nothing but an object for others to play with and push him around? Did he have no say in it?

He closed his eyes, remembering the first night he’d spent here, on this exact couch and a tear slipped from his eye. Back then, he used to have a purpose. 

What did he have now?

* * *

Nero dipped out from the ‘’family dinner’’ as soon as he could and headed to the garage. It was his safe place. 

He wondered if leaving Dante and Vergil alone had been a good idea. In retrospect, probably not, but he couldn’t give a fuck right about now.

His thoughts were occupied by V.

V, who was back but did not remember him. 

There was one weird thing though: Even if he assumed that V got used to Dante and Vergil’s presence on their way back from the Underworld, he still seemed to recognise Nico. Which left a bitter taste in his mouth. Was he the only one V was uncomfortable around? Why? Why did it have to be him?

Nero kicked a box and let out a frustrated sound. This was not fair! Just when he was starting to get over what had happened to V, surprise, he was back, but not the same. Just like dangling a toy in front of a puppy and never let it reach for the thing. 

His life was one enormous joke. To add insult to the injury, Dante avoided him too. Vergil seemed to be the only one wanting to settle things.

Well, tough shit. Nero’s desire to settle things with his father was gone at this point. 

His head hurt. He wished to stop thinking, stop feeling.

He needed to get drunk. Like, really fuckin drunk and forget eveything.

* * *

The kitchen was drawn in total darkness. Nero swore as he ran into a chair and turned it over. There had to be some alcohol in here. If Nico did not steal it.

Shuffling around, Nero fished a half empty bottle of Whiskey from the back of the shelf and was just about to leave when something caught his eye.

V was curled up on the couch, sleeping. He was clearly uncomfortable and probably cold too. 

Nero felt guilt flood his chest at the sight of a lean, white haired man so alone. Vergil was right. It was not V’s fault he did not remember and Nero had acted like an idiot, trying to run away from the problem. V deserved some common courtesy. At least a bed and a blanket. 

‘’V?’’ Nero whispered, gently touching his shoulder. ‘’You awake?’’

Getting no response, the young hunter considered just carrying him upstairs to his bed. Would it be creepy? What would V think if he woke up and found himself in Nero’s arms? 

Yeah, probably that was not such a great idea.

Finally, he settled for bringing a blanket and a pillow downstairs, gently placing it under V’s head and tucking him in. It was not perfect, but for now, it would have to do. 

Nero sighed and turned to leave, but he could not. 

‘’I kept dreaming of you, you know.’’ He said, glad V could not hear. ‘’Almost every night.’’ He unscrewed the cap and gulped down the brown liquid. ‘’It would start great but then you disappeared. Every damn time. I could not keep you. My own damn brain would not even let me. Fucked up isn’t it?’’

‘’And now you’re here.’’ Nero continued, sitting on the floor, his back to the couch. If he could see V all the time, he might do something stupid. Like kiss him, or run his fingers through those soft strands of hair failing on V’s face. ‘’But feels like I lost you worse this time. Why does it have to be like this, V?’’

‘’I’ve read the book you left me. Well, Vergil left it, but I pretended that you did. What did it matter anyway? I didn’t get shit, but it was the only thing I could do.’’

V made a soft noise in his sleep. Nero turned sharply. There were tears running down V’s face. It shattered his heart all over again. Should he wake up and comfort him? 

Did he have any right to? He was already inviding V’s privacy, sitting here and watching him sleep like a creep. 

Nero stood up and headed for the garage. On the way, he passed by the office to grab his sword and gun. He jumped on his bike and fired up the engine.

There was no way he would be able to fall asleep. Maybe a drive would clear his head.

Hopefully, he’d run into some leftover demons to take his mind off things. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of NSFW content in this chapter. Nothing too hardcore though

The night was chilly: cold air pushing Nero’s hair into his eyes and obscuring his vision. 

He put his foot to gas. The road was blocked ahead; he maneuvered between the fallen blocks of concrete, enhanced senses making control of the bike easier than it would have been for a human. Nero could feel the presence of some lower class demons around, but, thankfully, no humans in distress. He shot a couple of Empusas while driving by, not really bothering to look; feeling out the direction of Blue Rose’s bullets without following them with his eyes was a second nature at this point. 

Finally, he drove by something that seemed to be worth his time: a large Empusa nest. Nero hit the brakes and leaped off his bike, launching himself into the middle of the group of demons. He fired up the Devil Breaker, grappling his first victim and smashing it into others. He jumped back, grabbed another demon, grappling side of the nearby shop to give himself some momentum. Two calculated shots later, he landed back down gracefully, brushing his hair back.

‘’Come on,’’ The young devil hunter taunted. ‘’Let’s dance!’’ 

It took him a moment to realize: the demons were acting weirdly. Granted, these fuckers were always weird, but this time, they moved in ways that were unnatural even for the demons: just standing still and tossing their limbs around, like drunk teenagers at prom.

‘’Y’all guys are having a party?’’ Nero whistled. ‘’Guess my invitation got lost in the mail, huh?’’

Maybe they were mating or something? The thought almost made him vomit. Honestly, Nero had no idea how these things reproduced and he could honestly live his entire life without knowing a thing about it, thank you very much. 

Still, if they were actually trying to make little demon babies, that only meant one thing: there would be more of the fuckers if he did not intervene. 

He drew the Red Queen and charged. 

* * *

  
  


Overwhelming demonic presence made hairs on his neck stand in alarm. 

He looked around. He was surrounded. They were closing in on him from all sides. 

His chest constricted in dread. He had nothing to defend himself with. Not his familiars. Not even his cane. He was so useless and weak. 

V closed his eyes. Maybe if he did not resist, it would be over quickly? Maybe, this time his death would have some finality: Vergil would not be able to drag him back from oblivion and into the world he did not belong in.

The steps were getting closer. Any moment now, it would all be over. 

_No!_ Screamed a part of him that sounded like Griffon. _Get up princess! What are you doing?_

_You’re not here,_ V argued. _Leave me alone._

_ Of course we are, Shakespeare! We are your nightmares, or have you forgotten? Griffon’s voice sounded kinder than his words implied. We like to exist, you and I, don’t you remember? Get up and fight! _

_With what,_ V asked. _I am human. What chance do I have?_

_ You have been here before. You had nothing before us. Did not stop you. _

V closed his hands into fists, willing his body to comply. Slowly, he dragged himself onto his hands and knees and looked up. 

He was surrounded. But the demons were not attacking. Why were they not attacking? That made no sense. 

He stood up and looked around. Where was he? Did not look like the Underworld. It looked like nothing. The kind of nothing Malphas had trapped him in: there was only darkness around for miles, illuminated by eerie violet light from above.

Maybe the demons were waiting for a command? If that was it, V had to find the one commanding them, but did he have any chance of beating them? Definitely not. So, trying to escape before they came back sounded like a better idea. 

He pushed through the horde and headed forward. He had no idea where he was going. Everything looked exactly the same. He broke into a run; the light source was still overhead. Was it following him? 

V stopped to look, realizing there was no actual light source that he could see: it was nowhere. And everywhere. It was around him. 

A sharp pain flared up in his hand and, suddenly, there were lines creeping up from his fingers to his elbows. Oh, no! Was he starting to fall apart again? Was this how he was going to die? 

The pain kept increasing. The lines spread out from his arms to his neck and chest, extending like tree branches. They were glowing: the same violet color that was everywhere in this God forsaken place. He was _burning_. It felt like there was a fire under his skin, trying to scorch him alive.

V fell to his knees, clutching his hands to his chest. What was this? What was happening to him? Tears streamed down his cheeks. He wished the demons were here: maybe death to them and their secret puppeteer would be quicker and less painful…

There was a strange sound. V looked up: the demons were back. How? He had not heard them approach. Maybe they were not corporeal at all? V extended his glowing hands to touch. The monsters disintegrated into purple, ink-like substance and seeped into his skin. 

V screamed in pain and fell back. What was happening? Were they making a Demonic Contract with him? They should have needed his permission for that! He did not want to be linked to these insignificant, ugly creatures! The violet liquid was all around him, dragging him under. _No, no! Leave me alone!_ V wanted to scream, but he had no voice: the thing was inside him: his eyes, ears, mouth was full with its disgusting color, smell and taste. 

He laid there, curled up, trying to stop the tremors in his hands, eyes squeezed shut tight, longing for the sweet relief of unconsciousness that would not come...

* * *

V was woken up by Dante sauntering into the kitchen. The older hunter obviously took no care to be even a bit quiet, opening and closing drawers, throwing things into trash and looking for some clean mug to put his coffee in.

‘’Where… Where am I?’’ V gasped, his heart beating wildly, the nightmare still fresh in his mind.

Dante pretended he did not hear. V could not bring himself to care; he frantically checked his hands: they were as pale as the night before. 

He sighed in relief. It was all a dream. A weird one, but he was used to it: he got quite a lot of those back in the day. This time though, it was different: it has been him in there, not Vergil. The nightmare was not triggered by Vergil’s memories of Mundus, but rather from V’s fears. The feeling of it still nagged him the same way as Vergil’s memories of being Nelo Angelo, but this time, it was different, but he still struggled to understand: was it fear of being weak? Of dying? Of being trapped in some place with no escape again?

Wait,  _ again _ ? Was that how he felt after he joined with Vergil but remained separate? He did not remember. He had precious few memories he could really call his own and even those were out of his reach. How was he supposed to understand? How could he figure out who he was?

‘’Have you even spoken to Nero?’’ The old devil hunter asked.

‘’What are we supposed to talk about?’’ V shrugged, his mind elsewhere. He removed the blanket that was covering him. Wait, he did not remember having a blanket last night.

Dante leveled him with a stare. Well, obviously, V had not imagined Dante being displeased the night before. 

‘’You are cross with me.’’ V said.  _ Stated,  _ really.

Dante huffed. The nerve of this guy to pretend that he did not know the reason. The nerve of him to say it like they were supposed to talk about shit and stuff. That was so not how things worked around here!

Well, on second thought, maybe that was exactly the core of all the problems.

‘’Well, _obviously_.’’ He replied at last, sipping his coffee.

‘’I would like to know why.’’

‘’Jeez, I dunno, like… The way you act around Nero? And pretend to be all innocent?''

‘’I do not understand.’’ 

‘’Oh, don’t even try that shit with me.’’ Dante rolled his eyes. ‘’You may have fooled me once, V, but don’t think I’m naive. I know you. Well, I know  _ Vergil _ . And I’ve learned the hard way not to trust him.’’

‘’It’s hardly fair to project all of Vergil’s sins on me.’’ V said. ‘’But I understand your suspicions, Dante. You have every right not to trust me. Forgive me for being so forward, but it seems to me that _Vergil_ is the source of your problem. Not _me_.’’

V was on Dante’s last nerve with this casual honesty. 

‘’Vergil’s been the start and the end of my problems all my life.’’ Dante chuckled bitterly, tossing the half empty mug into the sink. ‘’That ain't news.’’

‘’Maybe  _ you two _ should talk then.’’ V mused.

Dante could not believe his ears. V seemed serious though.

‘’You actually mean that, don’t you?’’ The devil hunter could not help but laugh. ‘’Talk? With Vergil? You know what that ends with? Yamato through my guts. Thanks but no thanks. I’ll pass.’’

‘’One would think you enjoyed getting stabbed.’’ V said, folding the blanket and placing it with the pillow. ‘’From the lifestyle you lead.’’

Dante narrowed his eyes at V. He opened his mouth for a jab, but seemed to change his mind at the last second.

‘’Alright, I’m gonna need my coat back.’’ He said instead, extending a hand. 

V nodded, before remembering he was wearing nothing underneath it.

‘’What am I supposed to wear?’’

‘’You can walk around naked for all I care. I want my coat.’’ He was acting childish, Dante knew, but could not help making V a bit uncomfortable. 

V paused for a second, then shrugged off the coat and put it over the chair, standing there entirely naked, unfazed. 

‘’Thanks for letting me borrow it for the night, Dante.’’ He said calmly.

The door opened that exact moment. There, stood Nero, covered in blood and scratches; the Red Queen in his hand. Just in time to witness Dante staring at naked V. 

‘’What the fuck old man!’’ He yelled. 

V turned and gasped.

‘’Nero! What happened to you? You’re covered in blood!’’

‘’Umm… Most of it isn’t mine.’’ Nero stammered. God damn it, he had dreamed of seeing V naked almost since the day they’ve met, but not quite like this! 

‘’Run off for a little hunt to take your mind off things, eh?’’ Dante said. ‘’Real mature move, kid.’’

‘’I’ve learned from the best.’’ Nero jabbed.

Dante laughed. 

‘’Fair’s fair. Alright, gotta go, see how things are these days. Adios, boys!’’ He said, dawning his coat.

‘’Get your ass back for dinner, old man.’’ Nero yelled after him. ‘’There’s things we need to talk about. I’ll call Lady and Trish too.’’

With him gone, Nero felt more even awkward than before. He tried not to look, honestly, he did, but he was only a man, young, healthy man in his twenties and… V wasn’t exactly making it easy on him: he just stood there, hands on his sides, like modesty was some foreign concept to him. 

‘’W-why are you... naked?’’ He managed to ask at last.

‘’I don’t have anything to wear. Dante wanted his coat back.’’

Nero’s face was burning. God, at this rate his skin would start to peel off.

‘’Oh… That makes sense. I'll give you some of my clothes, okay?’’

‘’You’re most kind, Nero.’’ V nodded. ‘’Thank you.’’

‘’Ehh… Don’t mention it.’’ Nero said, dashing to his room to find something even remotely clean. His clothes would all be too big for V. He shuffled through his wardrobe, which was a complete mess. Why did he have to be so messy? Did he really not have a shirt and sweatpants with no stains on? Or the ones that didn’t smell? He started throwing things on the floor, scraping for something he would usually not wear and therefore, be cleaner.

Something drew his attention then; a leather bound, small tome. Nero’s face lit up. Oh, V would be so happy to see his book again!

* * *

‘’There you go!’’ Nero said, handing the clothes to V: the book was still safely tucked away in his coat.

V thanked him once again and got dressed, rather quickly, thank God for small mercies. Though the image of him naked was burned into Nero’s mind forever now.

‘’Had any breakfast yet?’’ Nero said cheerfully. V shook his head in refusal. ‘’Come, I’ll cook you something!’’

‘’I believe it would be for the best if you cleaned up first.’’ V noted, examining a cut on Nero’s forehead. ‘’This looks nasty.’’

‘’Eh, I’ll live.’’

‘’Is there a first aid kit in this house?’’ V brushed Nero’s hair back to look at the wound. His hair has grown a bit in the past couple of months. He could not be arsed to cut it himself and was too lazy to get to a salon. Nico had offered to cut it, but Nero would rather have a blind man with no arms do it then trust her goodwill: the girl would not pass up the chance to make him look hideous just for shits and giggles. Granted, there had been no one around whose opinion on Nero’s looks would count for shit, but still…

‘’Nero?’’

Nero realized he had closed his eyes and leaned into V’s soft fingers. Damn! This was not good!

‘’Sorry, sorry!’’ He muttered, backing away.

V seemed confused.

‘’Why are you apologizing?’’

‘’It’s… Never mind. Just… I’ll take a quick shower okay?’’

* * *

Nero threw his clothes on the floor, took off his metal hand (which was no longer needed, but he was used to the convenience of its tricks), placed it on the washing machine and stepped into the shower. He let out a sigh of relief when the hot water hit his sore muscles: those last Empusa Queens were a bitch to take out. Usually, he did not tire this easily, but sleepless nights and emotional strain was taking its toll. 

He touched the cut on his forehead, shivers running through his body at the memory of V’s hand resting there. The moment he closed his eyes, the image of V standing naked in the kitchen flooded his mind; of his pale skin, riddled with scars left behind by his tattoos. 

Nero sighed: his dick was perking up in interest. He wrapped his hand around it, giving it a couple of lazy strokes, imagining V here with him. How would his hands feel? Or his mouth? God, V’s lips would be incredible around him. Would he be able to take Nero in all the way? The sounds he would make, if Nero pinned him against the wet tiles and ran his hands over his lean body… 

Nero moaned and sped up his strokes. He was so close already… There was no shortage of things he would do to V and, his imagination, lit up by actual memory of V’s body, was giving him many lewd scenarios of the events that could unfold. 

He came with a gasp, leaning back against the wall. It had felt good, there was no denying that, but now that his mind was no longer clouded by lust, he felt the guilt creep over. Granted, he’d jerked off to V before (what was the point of denying that), but in those memories, V was alive and wanted him back. Those fantasies were not so far from reality, apart from the fact that V was… Well, gone.

Now though? Now that V did not want him back anymore, it felt _wrong_. Like he was invading V’s privacy somehow.

Nero punched the wall furiously. He just could not get good things all at once, could he? 

Apparently, it was not allowed. 

He turned the water off, wrapped a towel around his waist and made a beeline to his room to get dressed: there was enough of V walking around naked. Him doing it too would be a bit too much for the tension. He threw a blue hoodie and black jeans on haphazardly and was about to go downstairs when he caught a reflection of himself in the mirror.

Nero had not really looked at himself in months. Now that he did, what he saw surprised him a little: he seemed… older, somehow. There were lines on his face he did not remember. His eyes were sunken and he looked slimmer than usual. 

Nero brushed his hair away from his forehead and took another look; this way, with his hair longer, wet and slicked back, he looked like Vergil a little.

Now, that was the image he absolutely did not appreciate. Hurriedly, he pulled his hair back down and parted it to the sides. Fucks sake, now he looked like Dante! Nero groaned. He was so cutting his hair at the first opportunity, even if it meant he had to let Nico fuck it up. 

It was better than looking like either of those immature assholes.

He decided on putting the hood up in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter was a bitch to write.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Real life is a bitch, sorry this update is late

V was waiting in the kitchen. To Nero’s displeasure, so was Vergil. 

‘’Good morning, Nero.’’ Vergil said.

‘’Morning’’ Grumbled Nero in response and opened the fridge. There were some eggs left. Bacon too. ‘’You want eggs and bacon V? We have some coffee too. I remember that you like tea better, but not sure if we have any. Gotta do some groceries for sure.’’

‘’It’s fine, Nero. You don’t have to get things for me.’’

‘’Hey, we all gotta eat anyway, right? And if…’’ He stopped and glanced at Vergil who was sharpening the Yamato. ‘’We don’t do that in the kitchen. Got the garage for that.’’

‘’Are you implying I take care of Yamato in that dirty place?’’ Vergil seemed disgusted at the idea.

‘’For one, I’m not  _ implying _ , I’m  _ telling you _ . My house, my rules.’’ Nero said, putting on the pan. ‘’And for another, it’s not dirty at all. I have weapons to take care of as well, fyi.’’

‘’I was under the impression that this was Dante’s house.’’ 

‘’Yeah, emphasis on  _ was _ . But since you two disappeared for  _ months _ , I’ve been taking care of it and living here.’’ Nero poured whipped eggs into the pan. ‘’So, either act like a normal person would as a guest, or you’re welcome to fuck right off.’’ 

Vergil was looking at him in a strange way: Nero half expected a fist (or a dagger) to fly his way but his father seemed amused and a bit impressed.

‘’Alright.’’ Vergil said and put the Katana away. 

Nero raised his eyebrows.

‘’Alright? That’s it?’’

‘’At least you seem to have better manners than Dante. He would bring his toy sword to the dining table.’’

‘’I remember that.’’ V said suddenly. ‘’Mother was not amused. She made him do the dishes for that, every time.’’

Vergil growled. Nero tensed. Well, this was getting weird real quick. 

‘’You’re not supposed to remember that.’’ He said, coldly.

V stared at him.

‘’They’re your memories, Vergil. Of course I remember.’’ 

‘’That is precisely the point. They’re  _ my  _ memories, not yours.’’

V leaned closer to Vergil, his hand hovering over the older man’s shoulder for a second, then, seemingly, he reconsidered and just put it back on the table. 

‘’I’m sorry. That was untoward. She was not my mother of course.’’ V said with a sigh. He looked sad. Lost. Nero honestly wanted to punch Vergil. ‘’Neither was Sparda my father. I should not refer to them as family.’’

‘’Bullshit, V!’’ Nero said, agitated. ‘’This is your family and if anyone thinks otherwise..’’ He glared daggers at Vergil. ‘’They can stick it up their ass, okay?’’

V did not seem convinced, but did smile a little. Well, that was a small win in Nero’s book. 

‘’The breakfast is ready!’’ He said, setting plates on the table. 

Vergil sniffed the plate. 

‘’Do you think it’s poisoned or something?’’ 

‘’It is a possibility.’’ Vergil’s smile was shark-like.

Nero sat down across from them, digging into his own food with gusto. The battle never failed to give him appetite. 

‘’Trust me, I’d rather poison Dante.’’ He said. ‘’He’s more annoying.’’

‘’On that we agree.’’ 

* * *

V was pushing food around on his place listlessly, listening to the father and the son bickering. They had a lot in common; the temper, the snarky sense of humor… They would get along nicely, given enough time. V was sure. Nero seemed to have a way to get to everybody. Maybe, that’s what he himself saw in the boy, back in the day.

It still sounded ludicrous. He had known he would disappear. He was on a deadline, his days numbered. Why, how would he even dare to consider getting close to anyone? It did not seem plausible. Maybe that’s why they did not get far: judging the way Nero reacted to seeing him nude, V had deduced that it was the first time that the boy saw him in that state. Meaning they had not been intimate. It made things simpler, in a sense. 

But if that was so, why was he here? Dante had said that he’d done it for Nero, which V could see to be true, even if it was a bit ill conceived. If Dante cared about Nero’s happiness so (and he obviously did) why would he want V to be the one to make his nephew happy? What was V? Not even a complete person. Just a shadow of someone else’s former self. He had nothing. He was nothing. If anything ever developed between him and Nero again, he would be the weaker party and not only in the physical sense: totally inept in the ways the world worked, how was he supposed to be independent? 

Then, there was Vergil, who was even more confusing. Understanding his motives and feelings towards V was near impossible and it was frustrating: He kept going from cold and distant to almost fatherly and caring and then to downright hostile. V had thought he knew Vergil: he was a part of him after all. But this time, it felt different: He felt more disconnected from Vergil and his past life than before. And it scared him more than anything: If he could not even connect with Vergil, then who did he have to turn to?

Hoping that Vergil would be the one to lend him a shoulder to cry on… How far he had fallen. Of course Vergil was disgusted by him clinging to the past that was not even his. His weakness disgusted even V himself.

_ ‘’By God, you’re even worse than Vergil, if that’s possible.’’  _ A voice in V’s mind sounded mocking.

V flinched. 

_ ‘’Griffon?’’ _ He asked invadly.

‘ _ ’Close, kid, but wrong.’’ _

_ ‘’Who are you?’’  _

_ ‘’I'm the same as you, I suppose. Just another discarded part of Vergil.’’ _

V frowned. 

_ ‘’But I’m supposed to be human.’’  _ He asked. _ ‘’How are you talking to me?’’ _

_ ‘’Human? Is not that sweet. How dense are you? He made you out of Demonic Essence, boy. How could you be human?’’ _

This was too much. V felt claustrophobic suddenly. 

‘’Excuse me,’’ He said, getting up. 

‘’V, you have not eaten a thing!’’ That was Nero. Of course it was. 

‘’I’ve lost my appetite.’’ V replied. ‘’I… I need some time alone to think.’’

‘’I’ll put your share in the fridge I guess,’’ Nero called after him. 

* * *

V closed the bathroom door behind himself and leaned heavily on it. The bathroom was still steamy and warm. Nero’s discarded clothes and the Devil Breaker still sat on the washing machine. 

_ ‘’What do you want?’’ _ V asked the voice.

_ ‘’Want? To make Vergil pay for what he’s done to us, I suppose.’’ _

_ ‘’I’m not looking for revenge.’’  _ V declined. ‘ _ ’He gave me a second chance at life. I should be grateful.’’ _

_ ‘’Grateful? Are you though? Not according to what I’m witnessing.’’ _

V sighed. They had a point there. 

_ ‘’Even so,’’ _ He agreed grudgingly.  _ ‘’I’m not gonna help you.’’ _

_ ‘’Oh, yes, you are.’’ _ The voice seemed threatening and commanding in equal measure. 

There was a sudden flare of pain in his hands. V gasped: the violet arches from his nightmare were crawling up his skin. He screwed his eyes shut, breathing in deeply. It could not be real. He was imagining things. The voices in his head, the strange dreams, the pain… None of it was real. 

_ ‘’You keep telling yourself that.’’  _ The voice mocked.  _ ‘’Listen, boy. I don’t want to hurt you. So work with me here. If you don’t learn to use your powers, it might as well be the end of you. Exactly what Vergil planned for is my guess.’’ _

_ ‘’I don’t have any powers.’’ _ V muttered. _ ‘’Leave me alone!’’ _

_ ‘’Oh, I wish I could, but that is not an option.’’ _

Great. Another stubborn demon to deal with. 

_ ‘’Can you help me with whatever this is?’’  _ V looked down at his trembling hands.

_ ‘’I could teach you.’’ _

That sounded promising. Even more so, considering, the pain started to fade. 

_ ‘’Are you a demon?’’  _ V inquired.  _ ‘’Could I summon you?’’ _

_ ‘’Summon me?’’  _ The voice scoffed. _ ‘’I’m not some lowlife Underworld scum for you to order around.’’ _

_ ‘’But you are a demon. And I could use your power.’’ _

_ ‘’In a way. But try to learn how to walk before you attempt to fly.’’ _

Well, that was not a ‘’No.’’

‘’Guess you like being cryptic. But, tell me, what do I call you?’’

The voice was silent for a minute or two.

_ ‘’Whatever you want. I’m disappointed, though. Thought you were smarter than this. Is my presence, my energy, not familiar to you?’’ _

Now that the thing mentioned it, V actually realized: yes, it was familiar. In a strange way. It felt like exactly what he lacked in his past life as Vergil’s human half. Was Vergil’s demonic power, or at least some of it, now residing in V? He was pretty certain, the man would not let that happen. He would not weaken himself to give V an edge. But the demon seemed to be implying exactly that. 

‘’If you can’t guess, name me yourself then. Might as well help you.’’

V thought about it. According to Griffon, naming things wasn’t his call. The bird has made fun of him for calling himself V on multiple occasions. But somehow, it seemed right to him, not to choose a name for himself: He wasn’t his own person, after all. As for the demon, the name, similar to his, was on his lips before he even realized.

_ ‘’N.’’  _

_ ‘’Hm, maybe you’re not as hopeless as I’d assumed.’’  _ The demon said, thoughtfully.  _ ‘’I’ll accept that name.’’ _

_ ‘’I still don’t trust you.’’ _

_ ‘’Trust or no, makes no difference to me.’’  _ N replied. _ ‘’Suit yourself.’’ _

* * *

V considered if he ought to speak with Vergil about this. He felt like he could trust the man, but the demon, N, sent a sense of disapproval through his mind. But was N itself trustworthy? 

He found Vergil in the master bedroom, which, V assumed, belonged to Dante.

‘’Vergil?’’ He said hesitantly. ‘’May I speak with you?’’

If Vergil was surprised by his request, he did not seem to show it.

‘’Come in, Vitale.’’ 

V sat down at the edge of bed. Vergil himself was sitting in an armchair, polishing Yamato. It must have been a habit to keep himself focused, as the katana did not need any care: it was in perfect shape, as always.

‘’Why did you resurrect me?’’ V asked, trying his hardest to keep the blaming tone out of his voice.

He must have failed, since Vergil threw an indecipherable look his way.

‘’I have told you already.’’

‘’For Nero? I don’t believe that. You barely know him.’’

‘’That’s only a part of it. A small part, to be truthful. I mostly did it for you. And for myself.’’

The last part was probably the only truthful one.

‘’For yourself.’’ V pressed. ‘’Why?’’

Vergil stood and walked over, taking a seat next to V.

‘’Because I wanted you to be your own, Vitale. Because you deserved it.’’

‘’But I did not want it.’’

‘’You did. You just don’t remember.’’

‘’And why is that?’’

Vergil shrugged. 

‘’That i can not answer.’’ The look in his eyes was fond. V was not used to Vergil showing affection to anyone. It made him feel uneasy. ‘’But I’m glad it turned out that way. You are no longer burdened with your past. Or mine. Clean slate. I wish someone could do the same for me, Vitale. Not a lot of people get a chance to start anew.’’

V felt an anger rise at those words. He shrugged off the hand Vergil had laid on his shoulder. 

‘’You think you had the right to decide that for me?’’ He spat. ‘’Take what few memories I could call my own? And give me your nightmares instead, once again?’’

‘’What are you talking about?’’ Vergil seemed confused. ‘’You’re free of my nightmares, Vitale. I made sure of that.’’

‘’Well, you failed!’’ V almost shouted, jumping to his feet, looking down at the older man. His hands were on fire again. For the first time, he wished he actually knew how to free whatever power was setting his blood on fire and throw it at Vergil’s face. To make him  _ hurt _ . Make him feel the sense of despair and confusion that was consuming him. 

‘’You have to help me understand, Vitale.’’ Vergil said, cradling V’s head in his hands. ‘’I know I have wronged you. Let me make it right.’’

‘’ _ Don’t do it, foolish child!’ _ ’ N hissed in V’s mind. _ ‘’He’ll destroy us both! _ ’’

‘’Let me understand.’’ 

_ ‘’Don’t trust him!’’ _

V looked down at his hands. Why was he… What was happening to him? Was he losing his mind? He slowly released his fingers from the pockets of his borrowed shirt, setting them in the clear view of Vergil and waited…

And waited…

‘’V?’’ 

V moved his gaze to Vergil and back to his hands again. Could he… Not see? Was it all in his mind?

‘’My… My hands…’’ He stammered. 

Vergil frowned, taking V’s hands in his, observing them carefully. 

‘’You’re not falling apart again, are you?’’

V tore his hands away and all but ran out of the room. Was Vergil lying? Was N? He did not know what was real anymore. He did not want this! He had not asked for a second chance! He knew he had not! They gave him no choice! 

_ ‘’You better not be considering what I think you are.’’ _ N spoke. 

‘’Shut up!’’ V snapped at it. ‘’I’m done with everyone patronizing me! I’m done!’’

He run down the stairs and out of the door, ignoring Nero’s concerned voice calling to him.

He needed to get away. He needed to be alone. 

Sadly, solitude was not really an option. Voices in his head never left him alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Anyone figured out who's N yet? ^evil smirk


End file.
